Boeing 777 from Seoul, South Korea crashes while landing at San Francisco International Airport

YOU ARE WATCHING LOCAL 4. QDIV LOCAL 4 NEWS AT 11:00. A PLANE CRASH IN SAN FRANCISCO CLAIMS TO LIVES. THE FLIGHT COMING FROM SOUTH KOREA CRASHED ON LANDING AT SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AROUND 2:30 EASTERN TIME. FOR THE VERY LATEST LETS GET TO NBC NOAH WALKER SHE IS LIVE TONIGHT. FLIGHT 214 WAS ON APPROACH TO LAND AT SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL WHEN IT CRASHED. BLOKE APART, AND THEN SKIDDED TOWN THE RUNWAY. THIS IS WHAT REMAINS OF THE FUSELAGE, A BOEING 77 IS SEVEN IS. THE TOP OF THE PLANE TORN OPEN, THE TAIL SHORN OFF WITH A TRAIL OF DEBRIS STRETCHING FAR BEHIND. ALL EMERGENCY EXITS DEPLOYED, THE ESCAPE ROUTS FOR HUNDREDS OF PASSENGERS AND CREW. WHEN WE HAD ARRIVED ON SCENE, THE CHUTES HAD ALREADY BEEN DEPLOYED AND WE OBSERVED MULTIPLE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE COMING DOWN THE CHUTES AND ACTUALLY WALKING TO SAFETY, WHICH IS A GOOD THING. THE FLIGHT WAS AT THE END OF A 12 HOUR FLIGHT FROM SEOUL, SOUTH CAROLINA, CARRYING 307 PEOPLE AND READY TO LAND ON RUNWAY 28 LEFT, AT SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. WHEN SOMETHING WENT TERRIBLY WRONG. THE TAME KIND OF CLIPPED THE RUNWAY. I THINK THAT'S WHEN THE TAIL BROKE OFF. AND IT DID -- KIND OF SEVERAL FLIPS, CART WHEELS DOWN THE RUNWAY, THERE WERE -- AND THEN WHEN IT CAME TO REST, THERE WERE FLAMES AND SMOKE JUST BILLOWING. THE TAIL WAS UP IN THE AIR, AND IT ALMOST DID A FLIP, AND I THINK IT RIGHTS ITSELF AND CAME DOWN ON ITS BELLY. 214, HAVE THE EMERGENCY VEHICLES ARE RESPONDING IN. EMERGENCY CREWS RUSHED TO THE SCENE, SPRAYING THE PLANE WITH FOAM, AND TREATING PASSENGER WHOSE HAD ESCAPED FROM THE WRECKAGE. THE TOP TOTALLY COLLAPSED ON A LOT OF PEOPLE, SO A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE INJURED. SOURCES TELL NBC NEWS THE DEBRIS FIELD AT THE VERY BEGINNING TO RUNWAY SUGGESTS THE JET LINER CAME IN TOO LOW AND CLIPPED THE SEA WALL. IF THAT'S THE CASE, THE AIRPLANE IS MUCH TOO LOW. AND IS ON ON THE GROUND MUCH TOO EARLY, AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THE INVESTIGATORS ARE GOING TO LOOK AT VERY CLOSELY. A FOCUS FOR THE NTSB GO TEAM THAT WILL BE INVESTIGATING THE CRASH. WE WILL BE LOOK AT EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING IS ON THE TABLE AT THIS POINT. THE BEGINNING OF AN INVESTIGATION INTO WHAT HAPPENED AND WHY. INVESTIGATORS WILL BE INTERESTED IN THAT COCKPIT VISION RECORDER AND IS DATA RECORDER AS WELL AS PASSENGERS EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS TO TRY TO PIECE THIS THING TOGETHER. BUT FINDING OUT EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED AND WHY, COULD TAKE SOME TIME. REPORTING HERE, SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, BACK TO YOU. ALL RIGHT, NOEL WALKER IN SAN FRANCISCO FOR US TONIGHT, THANK YOU. AND THIS IS A HUGE EXAMPLE OF THE POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA. IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE CRASH, AN EXECUTIVE FOR SAMSUNG WHO WAS ON THE FLIGHT SENT OUT THIS TWEET RIGHT HERE. IT SAID "I JUST CRASH LANDED AT FFO, TAIL WHIPPED OFF, MOST EVERYBODY SEEMS FINE, I'M OKAY, SURREAL." AND JOINING US NOW IS AARON BUZZ KIRK A FORMER PILOT. AARON, I KNOW YOU FLEW FOR NORTHWEST FOR 25 YEARS YOU HAVE BEEN WATCHING THIS TODAY. TELL ME FIRST OFF WHAT COMES TO MIND WHEN YOU SEE THIS SCENE, AND YOU SEE THE INITIAL REPORTS OF WHO HAPPEN. WELL, THE FIRST THICK I NOTICED OFF SO THE SIDE OF THE RUNWAY, AND THEY SHOWED THE DEBRIS FIELD, IT WAS OBVIOUS WITH THE TAIL MISSING ON THE AIRCRAFT, THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS APPROACHING TO LAND, THE TAIL HIT FIRST. THE SHORT OF THE RUNWAY, AND KNOCKED PART OF THE TAIL OFF, AND THEN WHEN THAT HAPPENS, OF COURSE, YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE BASICALLY NO CONTROL ANY MORE OF THE AIRCRAFT, AND IT IS GOING TO COME SLAMMING DOWN ON TO THE RUNWAY. AND IT IS GOING TO DO A LOT MORE DAMAGE, MAYBE THE LANDING GEAR CHANCING. AND THE AIRPLANE IS GOING TO START SKIDDING OFF THE RUNWAY, AND THAT'S HOW IT CAME TO A STOP RIGHT SIDE UP OFF THE EDGE OF THE RUNWAY. AND I KNOW YOU JUST TOUCHED ON THIS A LITTLE BIT, WE KNOW THE TAIL OF THE PLANE HIT JUST SHORT OF THE RUNWAY. WHAT DOES THAT SAY TO YOU. WELL, IT REALLY SAYS THAT MORE DOWN THE ROAD ON THAT APPROACH, AND AN APPROACH TO THE AIRPORT, STARTS SEVERAL MILES OUT, WHEN THEY START PUTTING THE FLAPS DOWN, AND GEAR DOWN, THE LANDING GEAR DOWN, AND THEY START SLOWING THE AIRPLANE DOWN TO IT AS I APPROACH SPEED. AND SOMETIMES IF YOU GET OUTSIDE A CERTAIN PARAMETER, MAYBE YOU GET TOO SLOW, YOU GET TOO LOW, A NORMAL APPROACH AND -- IT'S NOT STABLE. AND AS THEY GO LOWER THEY PROBABLY TRIED TO CORRECT THAT, AND I MAY HAVE JUST BEEN TOO LATE TO GET THE POWER TO PRODUCE THE LIFT TO CARRY IT OVER THE END OF THE RUNWAY. AND WHEN THAT HAPPENED THEY WERE JUST TOO LOW, AND THEN THE TAIL WITH THE NOSE UP IN THE AIR, THE TAIL WILL BE THE FIRST THING TO HIT THE GROWN, AND THAT'S WHAT IT DID. ALL RIGHT. MAKE AS LOT OF SENSE, I'M SURE WE WILL BE HEARING A LOT MORE ABOUT THAT.

SAN FRANCISCO -

An Asiana Airlines flight from Seoul, South Korea, crashed while landing at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday, killing at least two people, injuring dozens of others and forcing passengers to jump down the emergency inflatable slides to safety as flames tore through the plane.

In addition to the two deaths in the crash at San Francisco International Airport, dozens of passengers were unaccounted for, said San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-Whites.

"This is a work in progress," she said, adding the investigation has been turned over to the FBI and that terrorism has been ruled out. She said at least 48 people were initially transported from the scene to area hospitals.

The Federal Aviation Administration said Flight 214 crashed while landing before noon PDT. A video clip posted to YouTube showed smoke coming from a jet on the tarmac. Passengers could be seen jumping down the emergency slides.

Television footage showed the top of the fuselage was burned away and the entire tail was gone. One engine appeared to have broken away. Pieces of the tail were strewn about the runway. Emergency responders could be seen walking inside the burned-out wreckage.

Survivors mark 1 year since Asiana crash

Sunday marked the one-year anniversary since Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 bound from South Korea crashed upon landing at San Francisco International Airport.

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Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Three people were killed when Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed as it landed at the San Francisco International Airport on July 6, 2013.

It wasn't immediately clear what happened to the plane as it was landing, but some eyewitnesses said the aircraft seemed to lose control and that the tail may have hit the ground.

Stephanie Turner saw the plane going down and the rescue slides deploy, but returned to her hotel room before seeing any passengers get off the jet, she told ABC News. Turner said when she first saw the flight she noticed right away that the angle of its approach seemed strange.

"I mean we were sure that we had just seen a lot of people die. It was awful," she said. "And it looked like the plane had completely broken apart. There were flames and smoke just billowing."

Kate Belding was out jogging just before 11:30 a.m. on a path the water from the airport when she noticed the plane approaching the runway in a way that "just didn't look like it was coming in quite right."

"Then all of a sudden I saw what looked like a cloud of dirt puffing up and then there was a big bang and it kind of looked like the plane maybe bounced (as it neared the ground)," she said. "I couldn't really tell what happened, but you saw the wings going up and (in) a weird angle."

"Not like it was cartwheeling," she said, but rather as though the wings were almost swaying from side to side.

Doug Yakel, a spokesman for the airport, said he did not yet know how many passengers were aboard the flight. "We also don't have any information at this time to the status of those passengers," he said at a brief news conference.

San Francisco General Hospital spokeswoman Rachael Kagan said the adult patients range in age from 20 to their 40s. It was not immediately clear the ages of the children.

San Francisco-area broadcasters KNTV, KCBS and KTVU have reported that there were fatalities in Saturday's crash, but The Associated Press contacted police, fire and coroner's officials and was unable to confirm any deaths.

A call to the airline seeking comment wasn't immediately returned.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team of investigators to San Francisco to probe the crash. NTSB spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said Saturday that NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman would head the team.

Boeing said it was preparing to provide technical assistance to the NTSB.

Numerous flights headed to San Francisco were diverted to other airports. A United Airlines flight bound for San Francisco was sent to Los Angeles airport, and passengers were told the San Francisco airport would be closed for at least three hours Saturday afternoon.

Asiana is a South Korean airline, second in size to national carrier Korean Air. It has recently tried to expand its presence in the United States, and joined the Star Alliance, which is anchored in the U.S. by United Airlines.

The 777-200 is a long-range plane from Boeing. The twin-engine aircraft is one of the world's most popular long-distance planes, often used for flights of 12 hours or more, from one continent to another. The airline's website says its 777s can carry between 246 to 300 passengers.

The flight was 10 hours and 23 minutes, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking service. The aircraft is configured to seat 295 passengers, it said.

The Boeing 777 is a smaller, wide-body jet that can travel long distances without refueling and is typically used for long flights over water.

The most notable accident involving a 777 occurred on Jan. 17, 2008 at Heathrow Airport in London. British Airways Flight 28 landed hard about 1,000 feet short of the runway and slid onto the start of the runway. The impact broke the 777-200's landing gear. There were 47 injuries, but no fatalities.

An investigation revealed ice pellets that had formed in the fuel were clogging the fuel-oil heat exchanger, blocking fuel from reaching the plane's engines. The Rolls-Royce Trent 800 series engines that were used on the plane were then redesigned.

Bill Waldock, an expert on aviation accident investigation, said he was reminded of the Heathrow accident as he watched video of Saturday's crash. "Of course, there is no indication directly that's what happened here," he said. "That's what the investigation is going to have to find out."

The Asiana 777 "was right at the landing phase and for whatever reason the landing went wrong," said Waldock, director of the Embry-Riddle University accident investigation laboratory in Prescott, Ariz. "For whatever reason, they appeared to go low on approach and then the airplane pitched up suddenly to an extreme attitude, which could have been the pilots trying to keep it out of the ground."

The last time a large U.S. airline lost a plane in a fatal crash was an American Airlines Airbus A300 taking off from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York in 2001.

Smaller airlines have had crashes since then. The last fatal U.S. crash was a Continental Express flight operated by Colgan Air, which crashed into a house near Buffalo, N.Y. on Feb. 12, 2009. The crash killed all 49 people on board and one man in a house.

Flying remains one of the safest forms of transportation: There are about two deaths worldwide for every 100 million passengers on commercial flights, according to an Associated Press analysis of government accident data.

Just a decade ago, passengers were 10 times as likely to die when flying on an American plane. The risk of death was even greater during the start of the jet age, with 1,696 people dying -- 133 out of every 100 million passengers -- from 1962 to 1971. The figures exclude acts of terrorism.

Asia remains one of the fastest-growing regions for aviation in the world. Even with slowing economies in Japan and China, airlines there saw 3.7 percent more passengers than a year ago, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Finding enough experienced pilots to meet a growing number of flights is becoming a problem. A 2012 report by aircraft manufacturer Boeing said the industry would need 460,000 new commercial airline pilots in the next two decades -- with 185,000 of them needed in Asia alone.

"The Asia-Pacific region continues to present the largest projected growth in pilot demand," the report said.

Copyright 2013 by ClickOnDetroit.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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